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Jake Paul's mouth gaped wide open, his eyes becoming wide, stunned circles as he sank to the canvas in stunned disbelief after a devastating right hand from the former champion. It appeared as if Paul was attempting to utter "Wow!" as the force of the impact registered to his rattled senses.

"The audience didn't spend money to see this crap," snapped the referee, summing up the sorry affair much more effectively than anyone else could.

Trapped in a neutral corner of the ring in the middle of the sixth round, Paul could not retreat or hold on to Joshua's legs like a forlorn little boy as the gravity of boxing became clear. Instead, as he attempted to withstand the punch that broke his jaw in two distinct locations, Paul was caught in an completely stunned moment.

So that is what it feels, and looks, to be hit hard by a genuine professional fighter, an Olympic champion and ex- world heavyweight champion. "Wow" is indeed the appropriate term.

It was the fourth time the social media star had been knocked down, but the result of a clean power shot meant Paul could not rise and taunt his opponent before the official waved the contest over. As blood began to leak from his mouth, and a numbing throb radiated through his jawbone, Paul finally grasped how hard, grueling, and dangerous boxing is at a respectable standard of professionalism.

A Far From Impressive Victory for the Victor

Anthony Joshua, it must be noted, was not impressive during the chaos. After his empty victory, he made a cut-throat motion that suggested a clinical and lethal finish when, in truth, Joshua had appeared exasperated for the majority of the contest. Rather than exuding intimidation or exhibiting an unshakeable confidence, Joshua had seemed tentative and crude for almost five rounds.

Paul's lack of conditioning, which is a fundamental requirement in top-level boxing, dictated the result. Without the gas to escape any more, and resorting to falling to the canvas as frequently as he could for a breather, Paul was rendered helpless by exhaustion. Joshua delivered the brutal finish, but, up to that point, he had looked like a sad shadow of the fighter he had been in 2017.

Joshua's Aftermath Comments

"It wasn't the finest performance," Joshua conceded. "The objective was to get Jake Paul, corner him and do damage. That has been the request, and that's what was on my thoughts. It took a bit longer than expected, but the right hand eventually found its destination."

Joshua commended Paul's courage but he offered an excuse for his own stilted performance. "He came up against a real fighter tonight that's had a 15-month layoff," Joshua said, referencing his previous loss. "We dusted off the cobwebs, and I am eager to roll into 2026."

The Future: Faded Forces and New Talent

In the post-fight interview afterwards, a jovial Joshua attempted a poor impression of Tyson Fury as he called for a fight against the currently retired boxer. Joshua will likely have his way, but that bout comes far too late in their professional journeys. Both fighters are on the far side of the peak.

In contrast, the most interesting heavyweights in the world are Oleksandr Usyk and Moses Itauma. Usyk remains the undoubted king of the weight class, having beaten both Joshua and Fury twice. Meanwhile, Itauma is a rising force. The young British heavyweight likely have needed fewer than half the number of rounds that Joshua required to knock Paul into a appropriately wowed state.

The Defeated Fighter's Defiant Reaction

But the public gets what the public wants, and that certainly means more pitiful crossover contests. Paul seemed genuinely proud and cocky to have had his jaw broken by a hammer-like right. In the early hours of the next day, he posted an radiograph, with the pair of breaks marked in crimson.

That lighthearted reference to Saúl "Canelo" Álvarez, a far greater boxer than Joshua but a similarly diminished force, showed that Paul's comic chutzpah is undented. It might not be Canelo, but Paul will shortly locate someone else with whom he can make more than $50 million.

During his in-ring interview, before leaving for the hospital, Paul expelled a streak of blood onto the canvas. It was one more bleak summary of the night as Paul mixed blunt truth with blood-flecked bravado and stated: "I think my jaw is broken. It's definitely broke. A nice little beating from one of the best to ever do it. I love this shit and I'm going to come back and continue winning."